Decency

Anthropology Essay

The concept of decency in the park/ decency (Ordenlikheid) respectability

Decency and respectability otherwise known as ordenlikhied is a key cornerstone of any society. Each and every community has its own set of values which members are supposed to follow. This essay is going to discuss decency paying particular attention to young girls who fall pregnant in their teens in South Africa and similar scenario in Zimbabwe of teenage mothers. It is also going to look at the policies used in the 1930s in South African government in order to create a good white person.

Nina Botha discusses the experiences of young Afrikaner girls who fall pregnant in their teens. Her particular focus is on a group of girls who are taken to a reform school whereby they are taught who to be good and respectable mothers. One of the things highlighted by Nina Botha is the pressures which young girls face in the pre and post conception period. She points out that one of the major problems which young Afrikaner and non Afrikaner girls face is the issue of poverty Nina Botha (2009). According to Botha in the majority of the young teenage pregnancies the people who are mostly involved come from lower middle class group. These people are poverty stricken and come from places were the family unit is most of the time instable. This often results in the cases of teenage pregnancies because the support structures and the proper care will not be available. Therefore the background of the young girl can be considered as one the pressures which face young women.

Furthermore, looking at the pre conception period, young women also face the problem of dealing with their parents. As a result of the pregnancy there is divergence which occurs between the mother and the pregnant young woman. An example mention by Nina Botha is that of a girl called Mina got pregnant .The parents are often looked down by the society because they failed to raise their child properly. This is when the concept of decency comes in (ordelikhied), because the parents will no longer be respectable members of the community because they are seen as not normal in their inability to raise their child in way which is socially acceptable. Thus looking at the pre conception period the friction created by the pregnant teenager and the parents standing in the community can be seen as one of the pressures young women face.

One of the pressures young women faced was the issue of the reform school. According to Nina Botha the school ensures that girls that leave the school are balanced and socially acceptable mothers. This process of turning the pregnant women into good mothers is done through the intervention of social workers, the church (Dutch reformed Church) and counselors. However the process is not simple. Some young women are difficult to change their way of life. For example, the case of Marli who told the social worker that she indented to kill her child Nina Botha (2009:11). This also shows the reform school which young women are obliged to go are some of the pressures which they face as a result of pregnancy.

Comparing the predicaments faced by the young Afrikaner women in South Africa, one can also draw a comparison to young girls in Zimbabwe. The main factors which cause young women to fall pregnant in a developing state such as Zimbabwe are poor social and economic structures. In the majority of most of the cases the people in this age group face dire poverty therefore get married at young age is the only solution. However, looking at the effects of falling pregnant the social and economic outcomes are quite similar to that of their South African counterparts. For instance, in Zimbabwe the young teenage mother drop out of school thereby affecting their educational development. This has consequence of compromising the young women ability to have favorable carrier options.

Furthermore, looking at the Zimbabwean situation on young pregnant mothers, there is are some differences between and their South African counterparts. For example, the young women are forced to go and live with their boyfriends in order to get married. There is not reform school which girls are told to be good decent mothers. They have to put up with the pressure of forced marriage with their boyfriends. This is of the fundamental differences between the young Afrikaner girls and the young girls in Zimbabw